Trigger-mechanism for firearms



June 16, W42. w. c. ROEMER 2,286,932

TRIGGER-MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Filed Dec. 19, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ago/m June 16, 1942. w. c. ROEMER TRIGGER-MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Filed Dec. 19, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ara/21 w MWar/z 6 Fae/flew June 16, 1942. w, c, RQEMER 2,286,932

TRIGGER-MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Filed D86. 19, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 //////////////IIIIIIIIIIIIII/lflII/ll/l/IM June 16, 1942. w, c RQEMER 2,286,932

TRIGGER-MECHANI SM FOR FIREARMS kfim/wyg J goai Patented June 16, 1942 TREGGER-HECHANISM FOR FIREARMS William C. Roemer, New Haven, Conn, assignor to Western Cartridge Company, New Haven, Conn, a corporation of Delaware application December 19, 1939, Serial No. 310,011

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in trigu gar-mechanisms for firearms and more particularly to trigger-mechanisms for that type of firearm wherein the breech-bolt is moved rearward- 1y by an action-slide or the like for the ejection of a fired cartridge and the insertion of a fresh cartridge into the cartridge-chamber of the firearm.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a firearm having a superior construction and arrangement of parts whereby the trigger is automatically uncoupled from the sear immediately upon the breech-bolt being unlocked and prior to the cocking of the firing-mechanism, the said trigger remaining uncoupled from the sear during the rearward and forward travel of the breech-bolt until the latter has reached its breech-closing position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a superior trigger-mechanism having coupling-means interposed between the trigger and the sear, the said coupling-means being constructed and arranged to permit the sear to be moved into its cocking position immediately. following the discharge of the firearm.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a superior trigger-mechanism having means constructed and arranged to disconnect the trigger from the sear to permit the sear to be moved into its cocking position even in the event of the trigger being held in its rearmost or firing position, so that the firearm cannot be discharged again, save upon the release and subsequent actuation of the trigger for each shot.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a superior trigger-mechanism of compact and rugged construction for assembly in a limited space in the firearm structure and. which may be assembled as a unitary structure before being installed in the firearm.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a broken view mainly in side elevation and partly in vertical central-longitudinal section of a firearm embodying the present invention, the breech-bolt being shown in its closed position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view partly in vertical central-longitudinal section and partly in side elevation of the portions of the firearm at and adjacent the trigger-mechanism, the hammer being shown in its cocked position preparatory to the discharge of the firearm;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts in the positions which they assume when the breech-bolt has been moved rearwardly into its retired position, cooking the firearm, and with the trigger held back in its rearmost or firing position; i

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a transverse the line 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a similar view taken on the line l-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a transverse the line 3-8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the trigger-unit with a portion of the trigger broken away and the sear-actuator shown in position to actuate the sear;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the trigger detached;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the sear;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the sear-actuator;

Fig. 13 is a broken perspective View of the rear portion of the action-slide looking mainly at the underside thereof; and

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the hammer.

The firearm herein chosen for illustrating the present invention includes a receiver 20, a barrel 2!, a receiver-extension 22, a trigger-plate 23 and a stock 24. The barrel 2| is secured to the said receiver 20 and extends forwardly therefrom in the usual manner of firearms, and the receiverextension 22 extends rearwardly from the said receiver and serves to couple the latter firmly to the stock 24. The trigger-plate 23 is secured to the underside of the receiver 20 in any suitable manner, and. has an. action-slide 25 resting upon its upper face with capacity for reciprocating movement longitudinally of the firearm.

The action-slide 25 may be moved rearwardly in any suitable manner such, for instance, as by a gas-operated piston as is shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 313,650 filed January 13, 1940. The said action-slide includes parallel spaced-apart side-arms 26-1 held in laterallyspaced relationship at their rear ends by a crosshead 28 to the respective opposite sides of which sectional view taken on sectional view taken on the rear ends of the side-arms 25 and 2i are welded, brazed or otherwise secured.

The receiver includes a top wall 250. from the respective opposite sides of which depend two laterally-spaced-apart side walls -29 providing a breech-bolt-receiving chamber 50 in which a breech-bolt 3| is adapted to be tilted and reciprocated by the action-slide 25. The reciprocating breech-bolt 3| has pivotally coupled to its rear end, by means of a pivot-pin 32, the upper end of an operating-link 33 which latter is also pivotally secured at its lower end by a pivot-pin 34 .to the cross-head 28 of the actionslide 25.

Extending rear-wardly from and formed integral with the cross-head 28 of the action-slide 25 is a stem 35 bearing at its rear end against the forward end of a spring-plunger mounted with capacity for reciprocating movement in the receiver-extension 22 before referred to, and which is constantly urged forwardly by a breechbolt-return spring 36 (Fig. 1).

The trigger-plate 23 is formed with a longitudinal clearance-groove 31 resulting in the for mation of laterally-spaced-apart side walls 38-55 from the respective upper edges of which ears 3935 respectively project upwardly and serve to mount the respective opposite ends of a pivot-pin 40 pivotally mounting a hammer 4| between the said ears 59-39. It may here be stated that the side-arms 25 and 21 of the actionslide 25 are mounted for reciprocatory movement between the upper edges of the side walls 3858 of the trigger-plate 23 and the lower edges of the side walls 2529 of the receiver l5.

The hammer 4| is formed with a longitudinal clearance-passage 42 in which extends the forward end of a spring-plunger 43 pivotally secured by a pivot-pin 44 to the said hammer 4|. The spring-plunger 43 is provided with a springguiding stem 45 mounted for sliding movement in a transversely-extending abutment-member 45 pivotally mounted at its respective opposite ends in the side walls 38-38 of the trigger-plate 23. Interposed between the forward face of the abutment-member 45 and a shoulder 41 formed on the spring-plunger 43 is a helical hammer-spring 48 encircling the forward portion of the stem 45. The opposite ends of the said hammer-spring 48 respectively thrust against the forward face of the abutment-member 45 and the shoulder 41 of the plunger 43 to constantly urge the hammer 4| forwardly to strike a firing-plunger 49 carried by the breech-bolt SI for the discharge of a cartridge. It may here be noted that the rear portion of the action-slide 25 is provided with a longitudinal clearance-slot 50 formed partly in the stem 35 and partly in the cross-head 28 thereof. The hammer 4| is located in the said clearance-slot when in its cocked position and the said hammer and the forward portion of the spring-plunger 43 are adapted to move through the said slot under the urge of the hammerspring 48 to effect the discharge of the firearm.

The trigger-plate 23 carries a trigger 5| mainly located in the clearance-groove 3i thereof and which is mounted for pivotal movement upon a pivot-pin 52 extending transversely of the said trigger-plate with its respective opposite ends supported in the side walls 38-38 of the said trigger-plate 23, as is shown in Fig. 6. The trigger 5| has its major portion located in the clearance-groove 3l of the trigger-plate 23 and is formed with a finger-piece. 53 extending downwardly through a vertical clearance-slot 54 formed in the trigger-plate 23 and leading downwardly from the clearance-groove 31 therein to the under face of the said trigger-plate. The said finger-piece 53 is enclosed by the usual loop-like trigger-guard 55.

The trigger 5| is formed with two laterallyspaced-apart forwardly-extending parallel substantially-L-shaped arms Edi-55 between the forward or outer portions of which extends an integral bridge 57, for the purpose as will hereinafter appear. The central portion of the said trigger 5| is formed with a longitudinal clearance-groove 53 receiving the rear end of a sear 55 mounted for independent pivotal movement, with respect to the trigger 5|, upon the pivotpin 52 before referred to, and which also pivotally mounts the said trigger.

The sear 55 extends forwardly between the arms 55-435 of the trigger 5| and is formed on its upper edge and about midway of its length with a forwardly-facing cocking-shoulder 55 adapted to engage a rearwardly-facing cockingabutment 6| forming one face of a cocking-notch 52 provided in the hammer 4|. The scar 59, by the engagement of its cocking-shoulder 50 with the cocking-abutment 5| of the hammer 4|, serves to releasably maintain the said hammer in its cocked position against the tension of the hammer-spring 48 until such time as the cockingshoulder 55 is moved downwardly out of engagement with the cocking-abutment 6| of the hammer 4|, by the actuation of the trigger 5|, all as will more clearly hereinafter appear.

Intermediate the pivot-pin 52 and the cockingshoulder 55, the sear 59 is provided with a downwardly-opening spring-socket 53 in which is located a helical sear-spring 54 having its lower end seated against the adjacent bottom of the clearance-groove 3? in the trigger-plate 23 as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The sear-spring 55 exerts a constant but yielding effort to move the sear 59 upwardly into position to interpose its cocking-shoulder 55 in the path of movement of the cocking-abutment 6| of the hammer 4|.

At its upper forward corner, the sear 59 is notched to form an upwardly-facing abutment 55 and a forwardly-facing limiting-shoulder for the purpose as will hereinafter appear.

For the purpose of coupling the trigger 5| to the sears 59 and uncoupling the same therefrom, the said trigger carries an L-shaped sear-actuator 6i pivotally mounted between the outer ends of the L-shaped arms 55-55 of the said trigger 5|. The sear-actuator 5'! is pivotally mounted for rocking movement relative to the trigger 5|, upon a pivot-pin 58 having its opposite ends respectively mounted in the arms 55-55 of the trigger 5|, as shown particularly well in Figs. 8 and 9. The sear-actuator 51 normally has the lower face of its depending arm 59 located immediately over the upwardly-facing abutment 65 of the sear 59 with its rear edge in engagement with the limiting-shoulder 56 of the said sear. At its rear or outer end, the substantially-horizontal arm E0 of the sear-actuator 51 mounts a relatively-long cam-pin ll extending transversely through the said arm 10 with each of its respective opposite ends normally disposed in the adjacent one of two clearance-notches l2--'|2 respectively formed inthe under edge of the adjacent rear portion of the side-arms 26 and 21 of the action-slide 25 when the latter is in its forward position.

Intermediate the pivot-pin 58 and the cam-pin H, the horizontal arm 15 of the sear-actuator 67 is provided with a downwardly-opening spring-socket 73 housing a spring-plunger 74 formed with a stem 75 extending upwardly through the end wall of the said spring-socket. Encircling the stem 75 of the spring-plunger 7i and housed within the spring-socket 73 is a helical spring 75 thrusting at one end against the end wall of the said spring-socket and at the other end against the upper face of the springplunger 74 to constantly urge the said springplunger into seated engagement with the upper face of the bridge 57 forming part of the trigger as before described.

The spring 76 just above referred to, thus constantly urges the sear-actuator 67 to turn in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 to maintain the rear face of the lower end of the vertical arm 89 of the said sear-actuator in engagement with the limiting-abutment S6 of the sear 59 and in position to engage the abutment 65 thereof for the purpose as will hereinafter appear. The spring 75 also serves to urge the opposite ends of the cam-pin 75 respectively upwardly into the clearance-notches 72-72 of the actionslide for engagement by forwardlyand downwardly-inclined uncoupling cams 77-77 each of which forms the forward wall of one of the clearance-notches 72-72. The uncoupling-cams 77-77 are adapted to engage the adjacent opposite ends of the cam-pin it when the actionslide 25 is moved rearwardl to rock the searactuator 57 in a counterclockwise direction from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2 into that shown in Fig. 3. This counterclockwise turning of the sear-actuator 57 will serve to swing the vertical-arm es thereof out of the path of movement of the abutment 65 of the sear 59. The described counterclockwise turning movement of the sear-actuator 67 will be effected against the tension of he spring 76 which holds the respective opposite ends of the cam-pin H in engagement with the lower edges of the adjacent side-arms 25 and 27 of the action-slide 25 during the major part of its rearward and forward travel. The retention of the cam-pin 7| as just described, prevents the said sear-actuator 67 from turning clockwise until the action-slide 25 has reached its forward position and the clearance-notches 72-42 of the said action-slide are again in registration with the opposite ends of the cam-pin 7!.

To hold the trigger 5i in its normal position the said trigger is formed adjacent its fingerpiece 53 with an upwardly-and-rearwardly-inclined spring-socket .53 opening through the rear upper edge thereof and housing a spring-plunger 79 having a guide-stem 8i] encircled by a helical trigger-spring 3i. Cne end of the spring 8! thrusts against the bottom of the spring-socket 78 while the opposite end thrusts against the adjacent face of the spring-plunger 79 to thus hold the said spring-plunger 79 in seated engagement with the adjacent portion of the triggerplate 23 and the trigger 5| in its normal or nonfiring position.

For the purpose of description let it be assumed that the cartridge-chamber of the firearm contains a cartridge and that the hammer 4| is cocked and the associated parts are in position in readiness for the discharge of the firearm, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Under this condition the breech bolt 3| is in its breech-closing position and the action-slide 25 is in its forward position.

If rearward draft is now applied to the fingerpiece 53 of the trigger 5| to rock the said trigger clockwise about its pivotepin 52 against the tension of the trigger-spring 8| the forward ends of the L-shaped arms 5575.6 of the said trigger will be swung downwardly. This downward movement of the forward ends of the said arms 56.56 of the trigger 5i will correspondingly bodily move the sear-actuator 67 carried thereby downwardly. Owing to the position of the end of the arm (39 of the sear-actuator 67 over the upwardly-facing abutment 65 of the sear 59, it will be readily apparent that any downward movement of the said sear-actuator will cause the outer end of the sear 59 to be concurrently moved downwardly to thus withdraw the cocking-shoulder 63 thereof from its engagement with the cocking-abutment 6! of the hammer 4|. The withdrawal of the cocking-shoulder 60 as just described will enable the said hammer M to be rapidly swung in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, under the urge of the hammer-spring 33. The hammer il, near the completion of its clockwise turning movement under the urge of the hammer-spring 33, will sharply strike the rear exposed end of the firing-plunger ,9 to snap the latter forwardly to discharge the cartridge contained in the cartridge-chamber of the firearm in a manner well understood in the art.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that rearward draft upon the trigger 5| will cause the said trigger, together with the sear-actuator 67 carried thereby and the sear 69 organized therewith, to be simultaneously rocked in a clockwise direction to effect the withdrawal of the cocking-shoulder 66 of the sear 59 from its engagement with the cocking-abutment 5! of the hammer 4|, since the parts 55, 553 and 67 in effect form a unitary structure.

The downward movement of the forward end of the trigger 5|, together with the sear-actuator 67, as above described, will have correspondingly moved the campin 7| carried by the said searactuator. The downward movement of the campin 7| is, however, only part way of its full downward movement and is insufficient to withdraw the opposite ends of the said cam-pin from their complemental clearance-notches 7272 in the action-slide 25. The opposite ends of the said cam-pin 7| will thus remain partly in the said clearance-notches 72-72 of the action-slide 25 for the purpose as will hereinafter be described.

Following the discharge of the firearm the rearward movement of the action-slide 25 will effect the unlocking and rearward movement of the tilting and reciprocating breech-bolt 3| to cause the ejection of t e just fired cartridge. This rearward travel or movement of the action-slide 25 will cause the uncoupling-cams 77- 77 of the said action-slide 25 to respectively engage the respective opposite ends of the campin 7| located in their respective clearancenotches 72- 72 immediately upon the start of the rearward travel of the said action-slide 25. The uncoupling-cams 777l, upon engaging the respective opposite ends of the cam-pin 7|, will cam the latter downwardly to thus swing the in a counterclockwise direction against the tension of the helical spring 76 carried thereby.

The counterclockwise movement as above described will swing the lower end of the arm 69 of the sear-actuator E37 forwardly to thus remove the same from its engagement with the abutment 65 thus releasing the sear 59 from the restraint against upward movement imposed thereon by the said sear-actuator 67. The uncoupling or disconnection of the sear-actuator 61 from the sear 59 will permit the sear-spring 64 to assert itself to swing the sear 59 upwardly to enable its cocking-shoulder [it to be re-engaged by the cocking-abutment of the hammer 4! when the said hammer is swung into its cocked position by the rearward movement of the action-slide 25.

It may here be noted that the action-slide 25 has a portion 82 of its cross-head 28 which is adapted to engage the forward face of the hammer 4| during the rearward travel of the said action-slide to swing the hammer M in a counterclockwise direction against the tension of its hammer-spring 48. It will also be understood that the respective opposite ends of the cam-pin ll of the sear-actuator 61 are in engagement with the respective lower edges of the side-arms 26 and 21 of the action-slide 25 during all but the initial rearward travel of the said action-slide. This engagement temporarily prevents the sear-actuator 61 from again assuming the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2 under the urge of the spring 16, and serves to hold the lower end of the arm 69 of the said sear-actuator 61 out of the path of movement of the abutment 65 of the sear 58 until such time as the clearance-notches 12-42 of the action-slide are again respectively in registration with the opposite ends of the cam-pin H by the full return movement of the said action-slide.

By preventing the arm 69 of the sear-actuator 61 from re--engaging with the abutment 65 of the sear 59 until such time as the action-slide 25 is returned fully to its forward position under the urge of the breech-bol't-closing spring 36, the sear 59 is rendered immune, during this time interval, against being again swung downwardly by any movement of the trigger 5!.

From the foregoing, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that substantially immediately following the initiation of the rearward movement of the action-slide 25 the sear-actuator 61 is so moved as to be rendered inoperative until such time as not only has the said action-slide been returned to its full forward position but rearward draft upon the trigger 5| has been relaxed. In this manner the sear 59 is freed of restraint against upward movement immediately following the discharge of the firearm so that it may be in position to hold the hammer 4| in its cooked position. Furthermore, the repeated discharge of the firearm is prevented until such time as the operator of the firearm has relaxed rearward draft upon the trigger 5!, and the action-slide 25 as well as the breech-bolt 3! have been returned to their full forward position.

In the event that it is desired to retire the breech-bolt 3! to effect the removal of an unfired cartridge from the firearm this may be effected by rearwardly moving the action-slide 25 without regard to the trigger 5!. During this operation, however, the sear-actuator 61 will be swung in a counterclockwise direction to thereby effectively disconnect the trigger 5| from the sear 59 to thus guard against the release of the hammer 4! during this operation.

By organizing the trigger, sear and sear-actuator in a manner such as is herein shown and described, it becomes feasible to conveniently assemble the three said elements and adjust the same to each other prior to their being installed in the firearm structure. Furthermore, by the construction and arrangement referred to, the firing-control mechanism is rendered compact, durable and reliable in its operation.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A firearm-structure including in combination: a pivotal hammer; pivot-means for the said pivotal hammer; a pivotal trigger pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point rearwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly beyond the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer; a pivotal sear also pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point to the rear of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly of the said pivotuneans, the said pivotal sear having a portion engageable with the said pivotal hammer to releasably hold the same in its cocked position; an L-shaped searactuator carried by and pivoted to the said trigger at a point forwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having a rearwardly-extending arm and a downwardly-extending arm extending into releasable engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said sear; spring-means yieldingly urging the said L- shaped sear-actuator to turn in a direction required to swing its downwardly-extending arm rearwardly for engagement with the arm of the said pivotal sear; and releasing-means movable substantially longitudinally of the firearm-structure and engaging with a portion of the rearwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator to positively turn the same in a direction to depress the said rearwardly-extending arm and to swing the said downwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator forwardly out of coacting engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said pivotal sear.

2. A firearm-structure including in combination: a pivotal hammer; pivot-means for the said pivotal hammer; a pivotal trigger pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point rearwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly beyond the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer; a pivotal sear also pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point coaxial with the said pivotal trigger and to the rear of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly of the said pivot-means, the said pivotal sear having a portion engageable with the said pivotal hammer to releasably hold the same in its cocked position; an L-shaped sear-actuar tor carried by and pivoted to the said trigger at a point forwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having a rearwardly-extending arm and a downwardly-extending arm extending into releasable engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said sear; spring-means yieldingly urging the said L- shaped sear-actuator to turn in a direction required to swing its downwardly-extending arm rearwardly for engagement with the arm of the said pivotal sear; and releasing-means movable substantially longitudinally of the firearmstructure and engaging with a portion of the rearwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator to positively turn the same in a direction to depress the said rearwardly-extending arm and to swing the said downwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator forwardly out of coacting engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said pivotal sear.

3. A firearm-structure including in combination: a pivotal hammer; pivot-means for the said pivotal hammer; a pivotal trigger pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point rearwardly of the pivot means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly beyond the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and provided with a substantially-horizontal sear-receiving recess; a pivotal sear also pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point to the rear of the pivotmeans of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly of the said pivot-means and through the sear-receiving recess in the forwardly-extending arm of the said trigger, the said pivotal sear having a portion engageable with the said pivotal hammer to releasably hold the same in its cocked position; an L-shaped sear-actuator carried by and pivoted to the said trigger at a point forwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having a rearwardly-extending arm and a downwardly-extending arm extending into releasable engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said sear; spring-means yieldingly urging the said L-shaped sear-actuator to turn in a direction required to swing its downwardly-extending arm I rearwardly for engagement with the arm of the said pivotal sear; and releasing-means movable substantially longitudinally of the firearm-structure and engaging with a portion of the rearwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator to positively turn the same in a direction to depress the said rearwardly-extending arm and to swing the said downwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator forwardly out of coacting engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said pivotal sear.

4. A firearm-structure including in combination: a pivotal hammer; pivot-means for the said pivotal hammer; a pivotal trigger pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point rearwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly beyond the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and provided with a substantially-horizontal sear-receiving recess; a pivotal sear also pivoted to the firearm-structure at a point coaxial with the said pivotal trigger and to the rear of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having an arm extending forwardly of the said pivot-means and through the sear-receiving recess in the forwardly-extending arm of the said trigger, the said pivotal sear having a portion engageable with the said pivotal hammer to releasably hold the same in its cocked position; an L-shaped sear-actuator carried by and pivoted to the said trigger at a point forwardly of the pivot-means of the said pivotal hammer and having a rearwardly-extending arm and a downwardly-extending arm extending into releasable engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said sear; spring-means yieldingly urging the said L- shaped sear-actuator to turn in a direction required to swing its downwardly-extending arm rearwardly for engagement with the arm of the said pivotal sear; and releasing-means movable substantially longitudinally of the firearm-structure and engaging with a portion of the rearwardIy-extending arm of the said sear-actuator to positively turn the same in a direction to depress the said rearwardly-extending arm and to swing the said downwardly-extending arm of the said sear-actuator forwardly out of coacting engagement with the forwardly-extending arm of the said pivotal sear.

WILLIAM C. ROEMER. 

